Photo courtesy of Dan Parker Half a million Lego bricks in a giant play room open for all-day building? A Lego lover's heaven takes over Foss Hall in Tacoma's Freighthouse Station April 2–17 as the Brick by Brick Spring Expo + Play Event opens its doors. The Expo will feature 7,000 square feet filled with hundreds of thousands of Legos, daily workshops and remarkable Lego sculptures, including a 10-foot-tall Statue of Liberty, created by local Lego guru Dan Parker. Dedicated play zones offer kids and adults alike the chance to build with Legos based around certain themes. Each zone will feature a table filled with themed bricks and pieces, plus a related Lego sculpture for inspiration. Play zone themes include: a castle zone with knights, horses and other medieval aspects; an architecture zone for building skyscrapers and cities; and a race car zone with racing ramps. Also expect zones on the Wild West, interactive soccer, dinosaurs, Hero Factory and more.
Multiple Duplo play areas with playmats will cater to little builders. Bonus: Ages 2 and under are admitted free with a paying adult. Maegen Blue, author of the Sounds Fun Mom blog, attended the last two Brick by Brick Expos. “Every kid I saw was having a ball, and it was great to see grown-ups building along with them,” she says. “The only warning I have about this event? Your kids will never want to leave. Bring a book, or a friend you’ve really been meaning to catch up with.” Daily workshops will include "Castle Architecture and Dungeons," "Building Roof Systems" and "Lego Geometry and SNOT (Studs Not on Top) Building." Each costs $10 in addition to regular Expo admission; they're recommended for ages 7 and up. Check the calendar graphic on the event's Facebook page for themes and times; show up early as workshop admission is first-come, first-serve. Some include a take-home kit. Photo courtesy of Dan Parker The only warning I have about this event?
Bring a book, or a friend you’ve really been meaning to catch up with. - Maegen Blue, Sounds Fun Mom Interactive Death Star: On the first weekend of the event (April 2–3), kids ages 6 and up can help build a collective Death Star sculpture. “The frame is already set up,” says Dan Parker, the Lego artist. “Kids can come up to the table and decorate a panel, which will then be placed on the sculpture immediately.” Premium play: A special room caters to more advanced builders, ages 10 and up. Here kids can construct bridges plus build and run trains on a track. Pre-built bridges and trains are on display for ideas. Event photographer: A roving professional photographer will be availble to snap images of kids with their creations. Each 8" x 10” photo will cost $15. Note: Personal photography was permitted at past Brick by Brick Expo events; we are currently verifying if the same is true this year. Lego shop: A merchant table will offer Lego sets, both new and vintage, for sale along with bins of bricks and mini figures.
Adult play: Evening build sessions for adults are unconfirmed at this time, but organizers may offer this. Check the event's Facebook page for information. Cost and hours: The Brick by Brick Spring Expo + Play Event is open daily, April 2–17, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. All-day admission is $15 per person, with discounts available for families, seniors, students, tribal members and more. Ask at the door. Children ages 2 and under are admitted free with an adult. A Groupon discount may still be available. (Note: Pierce County Asylum is an organizer of this event, so search for this on the Groupon website. While this company also produces haunted houses, the Brick by Brick Expo is NOT a scary event.) Location: This event takes place at Freighthouse Station (formerly Freighthouse Square), located at 440 E. 25th St., Tacoma, WA 98421, near the Tacoma Dome. If you want to participate in the Death Star build, be sure and go the first weekend. Once you pay, you can come and go as you please for the day.
Free parking is located in the Tacoma Dome parking garage at 424 E. 25th St., across the street from Freighthouse Station. A food court within Freighthouse Station offers a variety of restaurants. Restrooms are located just outside the door of Foss Hall, where the Expo takes place. Prepare your kids for the fact that they won't be able to take their creations home. Snap lots of photos so they can remember them. Bring a friend, a book, your knitting basket or whatever activity you like if you think you may tire of Lego building before your children do. We're sorry we can't seem to find the page you are looking for.If you have been involved in the LEGO hobby for some time you are well aware of how important it is to have a LEGO shopping strategy. LEGO is not cheap, and both the LEGO Company as well as retailers are taking advantage of the popularity of the brand by keeping prices as high as they can. This is an unfortunate occurrence, especially in the current economy.
Ultimately the strategy may backfire both for LEGO and retailers, but that is another topic, and whatever they do, we can still develop our own LEGO shopping strategies to get the best deals. One of the places people often shop for LEGO is Toys’R’Us. It is pretty much the only toy-shop chain left in the USA, and people naturally think of visiting them first when shopping for LEGO or other toys. One thing they are often not aware of however is how much Toys’R’Us jacks up prices on LEGO sets (and probably everything else too). A $5-$10-$20 mark-up from regular retail price is very common. Worse is when Toys’R’Us advertises sales around holidays. You will see 40% Off and BOGO 50% (Buy-One-Get-One-50%-Off) sales on LEGO advertised on the Toys’R’Us website and at their retail stores. However that 40% or 50% off is NOT what you think it is! In fact you often end up worse then buying the same LEGO set at an Official LEGO Store, or some generic retailer like Wal-Mart. I
will show you how Toys’R’Us is cooking the numbers and what you really end up with when you bite the hook on a Toys’R’Us LEGO sale. Eye-opening, isn’t it? The point is that if you want to get LEGO for the best prices, you really have to do your math. LEGO shopping could actually be quite fun if you take finding the best prices as a challenge. And it doesn’t have to be a long and tedious endeavor. Just have the latest LEGO Catalog or visit the Online LEGO Shop to check regular retail prices (I like the Catalog because I can take it with me to the store I’m planning to shop at). Then have a calculator handy to decode all the pricing voodoo retailers use to lure us into buying from them. 🙄 Again, the most notorious offender is Toys’R’Us. Other retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, Barnes & Noble and of course Official LEGO Stores almost always use the regular retail price, and when they have LEGO sales they to be decent, even excellent (like the 50% off regular retail price on some of the best LEGO sets at Wal-Mart last December). Th
ey may not sounds as fancy as Toys’R’Us as BOGO smoke-and-mirrors LEGO sales, but you don’t have to do complex calculations just to figure out if you are actually getting a deal. Also, Jason’s point about the LEGO VIP program is enlightening. If you are close to a LEGO store, or if you shop at the Online LEGO Shop, make sure you take advantage of this program. Especially when you can combine it with LEGO’s free shipping and double VIP point offers (like currently), you can really get an excellent deal as these offers are stackable. I also like Jason’s strategy of going right back to the store and getting a free set with the just acquired VIP points. How is that for an instant saving? 😉 So what do you think? Did you learn something from the video? Have you ever fallen for the Toys’R’Us advertisements? Do you have your own LEGO shopping tips you would like to share? What is your shopping strategy for this holiday season? Feel free to discuss in the comment section below! 🙂